Well, if you're in service or support, you shoot twice a year.  Infantry would be more.  I don't know for sure as I wasn't infantry but, I seem to remember guys I knew talking about one live fire exercise every couple of months in addition to bi-annual qualification.  (they were with the 10th Mountain Div)  My memory could be failing me though...

Speaking as a Marine Reserve Infantryman, the amount of live rounds we get each year is GROSSLY INSUFFICIENT. We probably do two (three at the most) live fire and maneuver excercises each year. That adds up to about 200 rounds. Including the rifle range qualification each year, thats another 100 rounds (50 for pre-qual and 50 for qual). So for us, about 300 a year.

The reason we get so few rounds is not only because we have almost no budget, we have about two days to do a months worth of training. We could probably fire off more live rounds each year, but that would take time away from other essential areas that are just as important as live fire and maneuver. (i.e. land nav, patrolling, MOUT, amphib ops, helo ops, etc, etc...)

It seems as a reserve NCO, you're fighting a losing battle trying to train all the new guys each month and keeping other Marines proficient in their skills. We just don't have enough time.

As a Huey Crew Chief, I did the folowing every year, both active and Guard:

9mm Pistol Range
M16 Range
M60D ground Gunnery (and its a bitch to shoot those on the ground)
[img]http://www.sarcoinc.com/images/m60d.gif[/img]
M60D Aerial Gunnery (shooting targets from a helicopter starting on the ground, then taking off and flying along the lanes). Here is a good link regarding airial gunnery [url]http://www.tfeagle.army.mil/tfetalon/archives/2001/tal030301/articles/Blackhawk.htm[/url]

Most of us shoot a lot more though for rifle teams or the hell of it.


Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

EDITED TO ADD LINK

Almost no budget?

[url]http://www.cdi.org/msc/clock.html[/url]


Makes 'ya wonder where all that taxpayer money disappers to, doesn't it?

I have to qualify once per quarter with the M9 pistol and once per year with the M16 and M60. Of course qualifying with the M60 consists of shooting 200 rounds. It doesn't matter if you hit anything, as long as you shoot your allotted rounds.
The Marines that I work with get to shoot more often especially the CQB team. Those guys seem to be at the range all the time.


Navy, it's not just a job, it's an indenture! [:D]

HEY, the topic is how often does a [b]Soldier[/b] shoot, not a [b]Squid[/b]   [;)]



Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

its all of dem bombs we have been building

   I keep pretty close count of my shooting here,just for GP I guess. Last year total I fired about  1900 -2000 rounds thru the M4, on 8 seperate occasions. Sometimes as little as 30 in a day to 900 in a 3 day period. Bout 2 qualifications, 3 or 4 live fire ex, some MOUT training , and so on. Also 2 trips a year to the 203 range. Probably shoot a hundred rounds thru it give or take.
    Now in '02 I've shot  around 1350 rds including 100 thru a 240B. From 45 rds. in a day to 1100 in 3. Looks like a lot better year for live rounds already. But we still don't shoot near enough, and when we do it's rarely with any thought to quality, ie we just do endless CQB drills and our favorite "Stress Shoots" , walk a 20 miler and see what you can hit. Way too little emphasis on basic marksmanship.

I'm in the Guard and we go to the range once a year. We only fire about fifty rounds.

Perhaps an infantryman would fire live rounds more often.